1. Field of the Invention
An aspect of this disclosure is related to an information providing device, information providing method, and information providing system.
2. Description of the Related Art
The number of users is increasing, who bring a smart device such as a laptop, a smartphone or a tablet (i.e. a mobile communication terminal) and do his/her job by connecting the smart device with an internal or external network. An information processing device such as a printer, a projector, and a display, etc., is installed for an internal or external office space. The user may use the information processing device through his/her mobile communication terminal via the network.
For the purpose of allowing the information processing devices to execute image output processing, the user needs to configure the above mentioned communication terminal for each of the information processing devices particularly. Also, some kinds of information processing devices force the user to install dedicated software such as a driver (typically, a printer driver) allowing the communication device to control the information processing device. The user needs to know configuration information required to allow the information processing device to execute the image output processing and driver information.
However, the user has to spend energy to configure the information processing device or to install the driver every time when the user changes a location to work. In addition, it is difficult for the user, who is not used to operating the communication terminal or does not have enough knowledge of a configuration of the communication terminal for the information processing device, to change the configuration every time when the user changes the location to work. Furthermore, even the skilled user may not know how to configure the communication terminal or install the driver for the information processing device which will be installed at a location where the user has not yet visited.
Any conventional technology does not teach a method allowing the information processing device which is convenient for the user to output images.
In particular, Patent Document 1 discloses a technology of performing connection configuration of a communication terminal by using a network address obtained from an information processing device via a configuration network. However, when the communication terminal connects with the information processing device for the first time, a workload of the user is not decreased because the user has to install a driver of the information processing device.
Patent Document 2 discloses a method of specifying an image forming device based on an IP address of a communication terminal and transmitting a printer driver associated with the image forming device to the communication terminal. However, in case that an external IP address is used, the method fails to determine the image forming device. As a result, user need to obtain the driver in his own.
Patent Documents 3, 4 and Non-patent Document 1 disclose a method of obtaining positional information about an information processing device installed indoors.